Conundrum
by thefundead
Summary: "The floorboards of the old Victorian house creak as I push myself up from them. I wish I had never entered, but the path to the door somehow drew me in with a force I couldn't fight. The old woman cackles and switches forms again." AU, Jily, oneshot.


JAMES POV  
As soon as I step into the room, I immediately notice the anesthetic smell. There are doctors walking around, getting different IVs, calling out words and numbers that sound like a foreign language to me. Then I see her. Lying on a cot partially concealed by a blue curtain looking almost lifeless. My heart jolts inside my chest.

She has two IVs sticking into her arms, and is hooked up to a heart monitor. I rush to the side of the bed, and touch her shoulder. As soon as I do this, Lily starts writhing and shrieking. I immediately withdraw my hand, and the screams fade to sobs.

Horrified, I turn to a nurse passing by.  
"What's happening to her?"  
"We're not really sure," the nurse replies. "She does that every time somebody touches her. She seems to be in some sort of coma, but she's partially awake and she's aware of her surroundings… sort of."  
"What do you mean, sort of?" I ask.  
"Well, I don't think she knows that she's in a mental hospital, but she clearly knows when somebody touches her, as you saw. Nobody knows what's going through her mind, though…"

LILY POV  
I scream as the old woman touches my shoulder, releasing the pain of a thousand knives. I groan in agony. Not a moment later, she takes her hand off of my shoulder, and the main source of pain disappears, leaving a terrible stinging aftershock.  
"Why do you scream," she murmurs quietly in my ear, "When nothing is happening to you? I could tear you apart, piece by piece, but would remain alive. You are _weak_, your empty mind cannot accept that."  
That was a low jab- this woman somehow knows every thought in my mind, so she knows how much wisdom means to me. I have never been much appreciated for anything else. Only Lily, that annoying little girl who can only with your schoolwork.  
"No come on, girl! Get up off the floor!"  
The floorboards of the old Victorian house creak as I push myself up from them. I wish I had never entered, but the path to the door somehow drew me in with a force I couldn't fight. The old woman cackles and switches forms again.  
She knows what is in my mind, and takes that as an advantage. Every time she switches form, it's always to somebody I have a special relationship with, a relationship of love or friendship. So far, she's become my mother, two of my friends, my father, my grandparents, and my sister. And she makes me kill her, in their forms. If I don't, she collapses to the ground, dead, in their forms. Though it is better than bringing death upon them myself, it is still incredibly agonizing to watch your loved ones die, as I now have had to several times.  
She steps forward from the shadows, the glint in her eyes showing, and a whole new kind of pain hits me.  
This time, she takes the form of a boy. Not just a boy, however. An arrogant, egotistical, argument influencing boy whom I had sworn to hate, but eventually fallen in love with.  
He walks towards me, stopping only a foot in front of me. He looks deep into my eyes with his own glimmering hazel ones, radiating cold compared to the warmth that typically fills me when I look into them, and a feeling of dread causes my stomach to drop. Then, James says those two words that break my heart knowing I must obey.

JAMES POV  
"Kill me," I groan. I've been watching Lily sleep for the past few minutes. She was calmly sleeping until now, whimpering occasionally, but other than that, she hasn't had much of a reaction to anything. However, as soon as I utter those two little words, the screaming begins again.  
"Shh… Lily, it's ok. Lily, Lily, come on, please be quiet. It's ok, you're ok."  
That last part was a lie. Nothing is "ok" anymore, especially her. It seems to have helped a bit, but then she starts muttering, and a beeping becomes evident in the room. The heart monitor.  
I look over, and my eyes widen in fear at the machine showing Lily's heartbeat, which is steadily gaining in speed. Suddenly, I hear her speak firmly and clearly, regaining my attention.  
"No. I would rather die than have to kill you."  
The beeping suddenly becomes longer and more noticeable. I look over, and my heart shatters.  
Lily flat lined.

* * *

(JAMES POV STILL)  
I gasp as my eyes shoot open. I prop myself up and look around. I immediately freeze as my eyes focus on the old woman lurking in the shadows. She cackles.  
"Oh, did you like that little show?" She morphs into Lily and fakes death. I wince.  
"Oh, but my dear boy, I have much worse planned for you." She touches my temples gently with two fingers, and, once again, I sink into unconsciousness.

**... So what do ya think? Enjoy? Think it sucks royal hippogriff? (I personally do, definitely not my best piece :/...) Tell me! ... No seriously I need some constructive crit, my friends don't know how to be brutally honest with me. Thanks for reading :D **


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